CHAPTER SEVEN: The Reprimand

"Out of the way, out of the way, police coming through!" Sylvain waved his arms in an attempt to clear a path to the front door of the police station, which was being blocked by hordes of reporters shoving microphones in the faces of anyone who looked remotely involved. "No, we're not giving statements at this time."

Felix ground his teeth. "Move," he snarled at a journalist who had thrown herself in front of him. "If you spill my coffee I swear to Saint Seiros I will break your camera."

The two finally reached the door and wrenched it open, then slammed it in the reporters' faces. "Good to see the time-honored institute of the press is still thriving," Sylvain joked, leaning against the door and patting himself to ensure all his tools and weapons were where he expected them to be.

Felix's bun had come undone, so he set his coffee cup on a nearby cabinet while he fixed it. "Who leaked the story to the vultures?" He wondered aloud in a garbled voice, his hair tie held between his teeth.

"A body was found missing a heart," An oily voice answered. "A missing person is one thing, but a murder is too sensational to keep quiet, don't you agree?"

"Lieutenant von Vestra," Felix greeted the officer.

"Detective," the lieutenant responded. "I'm here to bring you to the conference room as you are likely not familiar with the station's layout. It can be a little...complicated."

Felix picked up his coffee again and took a sip, taking the opportunity to look the lieutenant over through the steam of the drink. "I'm sure we would have managed." He couldn't put the reason why into words, but something about von Vestra made him uneasy.

"Ignore him," Sylvain said, stepping in front of Felix and grinning at the lieutenant. "Lead on!"

Von Vestra smiled, a tight-lipped, uncomfortable expression, and nodded. "Follow me."

—

As soon as they entered, the tension in the conference room hit Felix and Sylvain like a wave of rainforest humidity. Among a smattering of other high-ranking officers, Captains Edelgard and Blaiddyd were seated across from each other, and both looked like telephone wires ready to snap. "Good morning, Captains," Sylvain greeted them brightly. "Lovely day to discuss murder."

"Good morning, Sylvain, Felix," Captain Blaiddyd responded, voice a little strained.

Captain Edelgard's face was tight. "Sit," she ordered them.

Felix and Sylvain took seats beside Captain Blaiddyd while Lieutenant von Vestra returned to where he had been sitting beside Captain Edelgard. A leaden dread began to build in Felix's chest as he noticed glares from multiple officers directed towards him. Something bad had happened, and whatever it was involved him.

Captain Edelgard rose and stood in front of a pull-down projector screen. After a nod, one of the officers at the back of the table flipped the projector on, handing the remote to the captain. She pointed it at the screen, and a large image of the butchered corpse from the night before appeared on screen. "I trust you are all aware that human remains were discovered last night at 9:12 p.m. by a teenager walking her neighbor's dogs. Authorities were called and arrived on scene at approximately 9:53. Medical personnel were unable to find a pulse and the victim was declared dead on scene. After some investigation, the remains were identified as belonging to one Mr. Ferdinand von Aegir, a name some of you may recognize."

She pushed a button and the screen switched to a picture of Ferdinand's driver license photo. "The deceased is the son of Ludwig and Almut von Aegir, who own the Royal Imports Corporation-a business worth, as you know, more gold than the entire town of Garreg Mach." A muttering spread among the officers present. Another button push, and the screen switched back to the grisly crime scene. "The security camera belonging to the nearby ballet studio seems to have conveniently suffered an ill-timed power outage and failed to capture any of the events that resulted in Mr. von Aegir's death. The deceased's wallet was empty of cash, but the perpetrator left an expensive watch on his left wrist as well as a class ring valued at nearly three thousand gold. In lieu of valuables, the perpetrator seems to have taken the deceased's heart after cutting it from his chest."

The screen switched to a close-up of the chest wound, and several officers averted their eyes. "The deceased's family has been contacted, but they were unable to suggest any reasons their son would be targeted for such a horrific death. Preliminary medical reports found no drugs or toxins in the deceased's system. Time of death is estimated between 8:30 and 9:00 P.M. based on body temperature as well as the testimony of the owner of the aforementioned ballet studio, who returned to her studio to collect her forgotten coffee mug at approximately 8:25 P.M. and described seeing an empty beach. Despite an exhaustive search, no murder weapon or tools were found on or around the beach area."

She continued to talk and flip through slides, discussing the Royal Imports Corporation's recent squabble with a Leicester-based trading company as well as threats against the von Aegir family from several estranged business partners. She also mentioned Ferdinand's personal reputation, which was stellar outside of some small disagreements with people he considered friends. "Detective Fraldarius, I heard you had an experience with the deceased on the day of his murder?"

All eyes swiveled to Felix. He nodded. "It happened at The Merrow cafe at approximately 7:40 a.m." As he'd done last night, he recounted the event in full.

Captain Edelgard's face remained neutral. "Rest assured the implied corruption in the Garreg Mach Police Department is a fiction invented in Mr. von Aegir's mind. I expect a full report of the incident on my desk by this evening."

"Is there speculation that Mr. von Aegir's murder is connected to the missing persons case of Ashe Ubert?" Felix asked, jotting down the report assignment on his notepad.

Captain Edelgard shook her head. "At the present we have no reason to consider them linked. As such, Chief Charon has agreed that the Province will not be involved in our investigation of the von Aegir case at this time."

Felix jerked a nod. "Understood."

"I'm glad you mentioned the Ubert case, Detective Fraldarius." Captain Edelgard continued, her voice taking on a dry, tight tone. "If no one has further discussion on the von Aegir case, I'd like to switch cases. No? Good." She nodded to the officer on a laptop behind the projector, and the screen went dark. After a moment, it lit back up with an image of a journal.

Felix swallowed hard. It was Ashe's journal-the one he'd found and failed to report.

How did they…?

"The GMPD became aware that you had come into possession of a piece of evidence recovered from Ashe Ubert's apartment, Detective Fraldarius. When I looked into our evidence catalog, however, there was no mention of a sixth notebook. An officer dropped by your room this morning and found this notebook in your nightstand." Captain Edelgard sat down again beside Lieutenant von Vestra. "I would like an explanation."

Each breath Felix took felt strained, and his shirt collar became restricting, cutting into his neck like a noose. The eyes of the GMPD officers were merciless, and Felix's brain floundered through the justifications he'd given himself for his actions. He'd wanted time to...or maybe he hadn't trusted the GMPD officers would...no, that would make it worse…

He looked to the side and found Sylvain staring at the table, avoiding eye contact. Right, Felix thought, clenching his fists in his lap. Sylvain had been against his actions from the beginning. Sylvain had been the smart one-a new experience for both of them. "I…" He cleared his throat; it was as dry as if he'd just smoked a whole pack of cigarettes. "I found the notebook after a tip during my investigation. I had intended to catalogue it today."

"Why did you not immediately catalogue it upon discovery? You even went so far as to remove it from the scene and keep it at your personal residence."

"I wanted...uninterrupted time to read and memorize the contents before giving it over to be swept for prints. I wore gloves every time I handled it or its contents, and I kept it in an evidence bag when not actively reading it."

Captain Edelgard's expression had not softened in the slightest. "Did you or did you not agree that all evidence would be immediately shared between the Garreg Mach Police Department and the Faerghus Provincial Police?"

"I did."

"Do you believe your personal wants and ideals supersede agreements made between our departments?"

"I do not."

"Your actions would suggest otherwise. Is there more evidence you have found and not reported?"
"No."

"How can I believe what you say when you've already shown yourself willing to ignore protocol and follow your own prerogative?"

Felix clenched his teeth so hard one of his molars groaned. This pedant...she wasn't truly questioning his integrity. This was an exercise in humiliation designed to emphasize her authority and put him in his place in front of the other officers. No answer would satisfy her until she felt he had been sufficiently humbled.

In a way, he agreed with her-and even begrudgingly admired her. She was doing exactly what she should do to keep order and accountability in an investigation she was in charge of. He would probably do the same in her position. Even so, Felix's pride was robust and it galled him to have it shredded nearly as badly as von Aegir's chest. He should have listened to Sylvain. "My rec-"

"I gave him permission." A voice cut across Felix's half-hearted attempt to salvage his dignity.

Felix snapped his mouth shut, looking across his partner to stare at Captain Blaiddyd, who'd spoken.

"I beg your pardon?" Captain Edelgard asked, her face somehow even stormier than before.

"Detective Fraldarius reported to me upon discovery of the notebook and expressed his concerns that it would be taken for processing before he could properly investigate it. I gave him permission to peruse it for three days before cataloguing it." Captain Blaiddyd crossed his arms and lowered his chin, daring anyone to disagree.

Captain Edelgard blinked twice before speaking and when she did, her words were minced into furious bites."May I remind you, Dimitri, that your department is here as a mere accessory to the GMPD's investigation?"

"When Chief Charon contacted me, she seemed to believe the GMPD's progress in the investigation had stagnated to the point that intervention was needed."

"Fascinating that she left that bit out when she was telling me how she hoped the GMPD's efficiency and professionalism would rub off on your disorderly, undisciplined department. I believe she called it a 'zoo'?"

A muscle twitched in Captain Blaiddyd's jaw. "And yet my 'zoo' has won the Leadership Commendation Award twice as many times as your department. Curious."

"That is true. I unfortunately lack a father who donated untold amounts of money to the campaign of the one who gives out the awards, unlike you."

"Leave my father out of this," Captain Blaiddyd hissed. "You're disgracing yourself."

"Am I?" Captain Edelgard smirked, but her eyes were feral. "You and I will have more words later. As for you," she turned back to Felix. "Your position is saved but you have lost my trust. My officers have confiscated the journal from your room. You may have access to it again after it has been thoroughly investigated by my department. Did Officer Gautier have knowledge of your discovery?"

"No," Felix lied quickly, not looking at his partner. "I didn't tell him because I thought he would report it."

Edelgard narrowed her eyes. "It seems one of you has some sense, at least. If this sort of behavior repeats itself, not only will I see you off the case, Fraldarius, I will see your licensing questioned. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," Felix replied.

"Is that how they teach Detectives to respond to senior officers in the Provincial Police training?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Satisfied, Captain Edelgard straightened. "One last matter-the press is not to be tolerated snooping for information, and no statements are to be made except in the confines of an official press release. There are a couple of particularly troublesome journalists who smelled blood and have come to feast like vultures on Garreg Mach's recent tragedies. Avoid them if possible, and let me know if they obstruct your investigations in any way."

A murmur of assent rose around the table, but Felix stayed silent, stewing. At his side, Sylvain and Captain Blaiddyd were as stiff as pottery.

Standing, Captain Edelgard clicked off the projector with her remote. "Meeting adjourned."

—

Sylvain leaned his back on the wall beside Felix, kicking his heel against the bricks and staring up at the clouds backlit by the summer sun. He opened his mouth twice, but shut it again without speaking each time. Felix had chain-smoked two cigarettes before his partner finally broke the silence. "Thanks."

Felix grunted, lighting a third. "You were right."

"I know you don't like lying."

Felix said nothing. He'd lied so often lately he was becoming numb to his own cognitive dissonance.

"Hey, at least Captain D is getting chewed out instead of you right now," Sylvain said. "I would not want to be in Captain Edelgard's doghouse. She's terrifying."

"She's just doing what she has to."

"I feel like dressing you down in front of everyone was a little far, though. She could have done it privately." Sylvain thumped his foot a few more times. "Is it just me or are Captains B and E totally going to hate-bang later? They say they can't stand each other, but we all know hate is one step-"

"Shut up, Sylvain," Felix sighed. A moment later his pocket buzzed, and he pulled out his phone to see an unknown number on the caller ID. "Detective Fraldarius," he answered, hoping it wasn't Captain Edelgard overhearing Sylvain's idiotic gibberish and summoning him back into the station.

"Detective! Uh...I mean...Felix? Hi!"

"Annette?" Felix asked, surprised.

"Yes! It's me!" She said, sounding pleased he'd recognized her. "I know you're probably busy doing police stuff and I'm sorry to bother you like this, but I found some of those comment cards I mentioned yesterday."

Felix's grip on the phone tightened. "I'll be there in seven minutes."

"You mean The Merrow, right?"

"Is that where you are?"

"Uh...yeah, that works! I'll see you soon."

"Annette? Dominic-without-a-k-at-the-end?" Sylvain asked as soon as Felix had hung up. "That Annette?"

Pocketing his phone, Felix took another drag of his cigarette. "The one and only. I have to pick something up from The Merrow. You coming?"

"Oh, absolutely." Sylvain pushed away from the wall. "I'm not going to risk being Captain Edelgard's next interview."

Felix nodded, head still buzzing with thoughts. As he put his cigarette up to his lips again, it disappeared. "The hell?" He growled.

Sylvain, who had flicked it out of his fingers, gave him a toothy grin. "Gotta break that habit, my friend."

Felix's hands were itching to break something. He took a long, deep breath, and then counted to four. This day felt like it had already lasted a week. "Get to the car before you end up a corpse on the beach next."

—

The waitresses at The Merrow didn't bother calling out a welcome to the officers this time, and the air was tense as soon as they entered. Bernadetta turned to make a run for the bathroom, but Ingrid reached out and caught her purple t-shirt collar before she could build up speed. In the middle of the cafe, Claude was on a ladder messing with some wires in a ceiling light, with Hilda holding the base of the ladder and offering unhelpful suggestions. The two turned to see the officers and Claude's face, unlike Hilda's, brightened. "The men of the hour! Here to protect us from the heart-eating mermaids?"

Sylvain laughed in response, but Felix watched the reactions of the other staff members out of the corner of his eyes. Ingrid's arm twitched, jolting the collar of Bernadetta, who squeaked in terror. Hilda frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "How long do you expect me to hold this for you? Fix the light and come down before I start getting sweaty."

"Fe-Detective! Over here!" Annette's voice came from a table at the back of the dining room. She stood partially, leaning over the table with one hand and waving with the other.

Felix jerked his head at his partner and walked over to her table, seating himself across from her. "Morning."

"Always a pleasure to see you, Ms. Dominic," Sylvain said, sitting next to Felix. He smiled at her with his smoothest expression, and Felix kicked him under the table.

"You found the comment cards?"

Annette nodded, pushing across the table four cards she'd stacked in front of her. "Here they are; you can see he signed them and everything. Could you show me the letter again? I want to see if I was right."

Felix cleared his throat, cooled irritation returning to a simmer in his mind. "I don't have it anymore."

"Huh?" Annette asked, surprised. "Where'd it go?"

"...It was-it doesn't matter. I don't have it." Catching himself before he gave away information, Felix grabbed the comment cards as a distraction. "I remember what the writing looked like." He squinted at the writing on the cards, passing them off to Sylvain one by one. "I need to get these to the handwriting analyst."

Annette watched them examine the cards, eyes wide. "You still have the diary, right? Could there be another letter or something else to use?"

"The diary isn't in my possession, either."

His answer was short and clipped, indicating his unwillingness to discuss the matter further, but Annette spoke again, though hesitantly. "Did you at least get to read the whole thing?"

Felix looked up sharply. Her fist, which had been clenched at her chest, relaxed and dropped into her lab. He handed the last card to Sylvain and crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat. "Not entirely." He studied her face as he spoke. "I did find one thing, though, that I'd like to ask you about."

The cafe was silent save for Claude swearing at the light fixture from atop the ladder. Annette tilted her head. "Me? What is it? I-is it that silly thing I wrote on the sticky note that one time? Did he keep it? That was a joke-I swear!"

"What? No. I'm wondering if you happen to know someone named Petra Macneary."

Something dropped at the prep station, falling to the floor with an almighty clang and causing Annette to jolt in her seat. "Bah!" She shrieked, putting a hand over her heart. "Bernadetta!"

"Sorry…!" Bernadetta apologized, her voice barely audible as she was crouched behind the counter, picking up wayward blueberries. "Th-the bowl was slippery! I'm really sorry! Stupid Bernie!"

"It's fine…" Annette took a few deep breaths. "Sorry, Detective...what did you say?"

Felix kicked Sylvain under the table again, gently this time, as if to say pay attention. "Petra Macneary. Does that name ring any bells to you?"

Annette blinked once, then twice, her face blank. "Macneary…" She brought her hand to her chin, closing her eyes in concentration. "Macneary…I don't...I don't recall that name."

"Fascinating," Felix replied, his voice low. "Ashe wrote that she was employed here not long ago."

Annette's mouth fell open, but another voice interrupted. "Of course we know her. What are you saying?" Felix and Sylvain turned to see Ingrid standing beside their table, shaking her head. "You really are an airhead, Annette."

"Pet...PETRA!" Annette squeaked. "Right! No, of course I know that Petra! I love Petra!" She put her hands together in apology. "Sorry, Detective! I don't think I'd ever heard our Petra's last name before. I know, like, five Petras, so I didn't immediately think of her!"

Felix narrowed his eyes. Her tone, her face...

He wanted to believe her.

"She doesn't work here anymore, obviously," Ingrid said.

"Why not?" Sylvain asked when Felix didn't respond.

"She had to go back to Brigid-that's where she's from-suddenly. Family emergency or something." Ingrid shrugged.

Annette nodded. "I don't know anything about her family, but she mentioned her grandfather wasn't in the best of health. I hope he's okay..."

"What color was her hair?"

"Sort of a plum with kind of a tint of...wait! That hair lock you showed me!" Annette pointed at Felix. "It was that color! That could have been hers! Goddess, I'm such a ditz..."

"Ashe kept a lock of her hair in his diary?" Hilda had abandoned Claude's ladder to come stand beside Ingrid. "Wow! I knew it!"

Felix turned to the newcomer. "Knew what?"

"Knew he had a big fat crush on her. You told me I was just-what did you say?" Hilda glared at Ingrid. "'Making up drama because I was lonely'. That's what you said! I told you my Hil-dar is never wrong about these sorts of things. You owe me a soda!"

Ingrid put her head in her hand as if she were already tired of the way Hilda was going to lord this over her. "Yes, yes, you were right. Get my purse and take a dollar out of it."

"Do you know her contact information? We'd love to get a statement from her," Sylvain said, taking out his notepad.

Annette shook her head. "She didn't leave her information with any of us. You'll have to ask Manuela."

"I'll do that," Felix said, scooting his chair back and standing up. The staff was taking the mention of Petra's name much better than he'd expected, and it had thrown his theories into disarray. Sylvain followed suit, gathering up the comment cards and stowing them in a pocket. "We need to get back to the station."

Hilda grabbed his arm before he could leave. "Say, Detective. This is just a thought, but...don't you think Ashe could have followed Petra to Brigid if he liked her that much? What if he didn't really disappear per se and just...ran off after her?"

"Or what if..." Annette said, taking Hilda's hand off of Felix's arm and holding it in her own hands. "What if they eloped?"

Hilda gasped. "So romantic! I could see it!"

"I think you're both getting carried away here," Ingrid said drily, steering Hilda towards the counter. "Back to work."

As Hilda protested, the door to the kitchen opened and Lysithea came out, holding a load of clean silverware in one arm and looking none too pleased to see the officers. "I thought you two might be here, judging by all the noise. If you're looking for Dorothea to talk to her about Ferdinand von Aegir, she's not in today. She doesn't work again until Wednesday," She said, laying the utensils on one of the prep benches. "She's pretty upset over this whole situation, so I'd thank you to give her at least a day before you start to harass her."

"I understand," Felix replied. Miss von Cordelia was as sharp as ever; questioning Dorothea and all the staff that was working yesterday was on his to-do list, right after getting to the bottom of the business with Lorenz Gloucester. Hilda, Annette, and Claude had solid alibis-he had seen them himself at the same time the murder was theoretically occurring-but the others would need to give an accounting of where they were during that time window.

Then again, Captain Edelgard had made it clear he wasn't welcome in the von Aegir case, and he had no reason to question them again about Ashe Ubert. Asking for alibis about a case he wasn't working would be outside of Felix's jurisdiction.

But they didn't know that, did they?

"We'll be back," Felix said. "Thanks for the help."

Once they were back in the car, Sylvain whistled low. "I feel like we just got handed a bag of puzzle pieces but they're all from different puzzles and none of them fit together."

Felix grunted in response, staring out the windshield.

"What do you think about that theory Goneril had? It's plausible, isn't it?"

"Elopement?" Felix shook his head slowly. "It's possible, but it's...too convenient. They know we can't investigate in Brigid without permission from Brigid's Parliament and royal family. They just offered us a dead end."

Sylvain snorted. "Who said the truth couldn't be convenient? Occam's razor, right?"

"And what of the items Ubert left behind? Why would he stop contacting his family? Where does Gloucester's threat fit in? Why was von Aegir murdered? It doesn't fit."

"First off, the von Aegir case doesn't have to fit in. There's no reason to assume it's connected," Sylvain reminded him. "Just because The Merrow staff knew both Ubert and von Aegir doesn't make them connected. The Merrow staff seems to know most people in town because they're a popular lunch joint. Furthermore, maybe there's some family drama we don't know about. Maybe Ubert has a reason for ghosting his family."

Felix shook his head again, harder. "I don't buy it." He started the car, throwing it into reverse and turning the air conditioning on high. "Let's turn in those comment cards. If they match, I think it's time for another conversation with Mr. Gloucester."

—

Felix had just swallowed the first bite of his instant noodles when Sylvain burst into their shared office, waving papers. "It's a match!"

"The handwriting?" Felix stood, ignoring the puddle of noodle soup he'd sloshed all over the cubicle desk in surprise. "Give it here."

Sylvain handed him the papers proudly. "Right there. One hundred percent match. He didn't even try to disguise his handwriting."

"Arrogant son of a bitch," Felix muttered, smirking as he read. "He never thought we'd find out, or didn't think it would matter."

"Shall I bring him in?"

Felix checked his phone to look at the time, also noticing an unread text message notification. "It's already after five o'clock. Let's go get him first thing tomorrow morning. I want copies of that note printed out before we leave the station tonight. You ask for it, though, because they'll give me trouble if I ask."

"You got it."

After Sylvain left, Felix sat down in his seat again and clicked on the message notification.

[Dominic-no-k]: hi! it's me again

[Dominic-no-k]: oh I mean it's Annette

[Dominic-no-k]: you probably don't have my number saved so that was dumb

[Dominic-no-k]: would you be down for another tour tonight?

Felix smiled at the phone.

[Me]: What time?

After a minute or two, a reply message popped up.

[Dominic-no-k]: whenever you get off work!

[Dominic-no-k]: as long as it's not too late lol

[Me]: I'm off now. Is that fine?

[Dominic-no-k]: sure! have you eaten?

[Me]: I was about to.

[Dominic-no-k]: great! eat fast and meet me at the laundromat behind the post office. [Dominic-no-k]: wear shoes you can walk in!

[Me]: I'm bringing my weapon belt.

[Dominic-no-k]: ok lol!

Felix clicked off his phone screen and grabbed his chopsticks. How fast could he eat a bowl of soup?